Is Momentum Building Against N.S.A. Surveillance?

Representative Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican, is part of the movement to crack down on government surveillance. Christopher Gregory/The New York Times

Momentum Builds Against N.S.A. Surveillance -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The movement to crack down on government surveillance started with an odd couple from Michigan, Representatives Justin Amash, a young libertarian Republican known even to his friends as “chief wing nut,” and John Conyers Jr., an elder of the liberal left in his 25th House term.

But what began on the political fringes only a week ago has built a momentum that even critics say may be unstoppable, drawing support from Republican and Democratic leaders, attracting moderates in both parties and pulling in some of the most respected voices on national security in the House.

The rapidly shifting politics were reflected clearly in the House on Wednesday, when a plan to defund the National Security Agency’s telephone data collection program fell just seven votes short of passage. Now, after initially signaling that they were comfortable with the scope of the N.S.A.’s collection of Americans’ phone and Internet activities, but not their content, revealed last month by Edward J. Snowden, lawmakers are showing an increasing willingness to use legislation to curb those actions.

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My Comment: While the closeness of last week's vote on limiting the powers of the NSA was a surprised .... I doubt that it is going to happen again. The powers that be .... the House leadership (of both parties), the US Senate, and more importantly .... the White House .... they are now positioning themselves to make sure that such a vote does not happen again in the future. Bottom line .... the Washington political establishment, the military, the intelligence community, industries involved in defense and intelligence, the judiciary, and much of the media and pundit class .... they have voiced the opinion that the NSA should not be limited in it's surveillance programs .... and in fact .... are debating amongst themselves that maybe the NSA will need more authority and legal powers to conduct their surveillance programs .... coupled with greater oversight. In such an environment .... even though many are still voicing their concerns on the NSA .... the critics do not have the numbers nor the power to make the changes that are neccessary.